LOGAN, Utah — Three Utah sisters are making it their mission to make every classmate feel loved this Valentine's Day, spreading love and positivity one paper heart at a time. It's an effort that started eight years ago by the oldest Adams sister from Logan.
"Basically, I just wanted everybody to feel loved on Valentine’s Day," explained Jenna Adams. "You see people struggle and you just want to be a friend to them and you reach out and try to do what you can so they know that someone loves them, too."
Jenna has been putting up paper hearts with a special message on classmates' lockers since 2017. It's a gesture that has touched several students.
"Some of them were like, 'You saved my life. It was just something to remind me that someone does love me. Someone is out there that cares,'" Adams shared. "A lot of them were like, 'I was going through a hard time.'"
Adams says feeling isolated and down is something she knew well while in middle and high school, at times, finding herself the victim of bullying.
"I just hated feeling that feeling when it’s like does anyone really care’?"
With Jenna off at college, her sisters, 15-year-old Tatum and 13-year-old Lexie, have taken over the efforts and are happy to continue where big sister left off.
"A lot of them say you’re so cute or I like your smile, just uplifting things," Lexie explained, laughing when she shared her favorite message she scribbled on a heart, "Are you from Tennessee? Because you’re the only 10 I see!"
It's been a fun few years for Tatum as she joined what has become a family effort.
"The kids started asking me if I was going to start doing it at the high school this year," Tatum said.
The hearts make their dad, Doug, very proud of his girls,
"They do it because they love to and they do it because they want to help make a difference," he said.
With teenage suicide rates in Utah some of the highest in the nation, the sisters say they've had classmates confide in them knowing their desire to be there. Tatum believes a lot of the problems stem from insecurities caused by social media.
"I just want people to feel like they have someone to rely on," Lexie said, "that they have someone to talk to if they need it."
The sisters shared how heart-giving has made them more aware of the need to reach out to those who may be struggling, with Jenna making sure we added that there is someone out there who loves you and we want you here.
